We Are Marquette

MU/360

MU/360

Glory Day!

The largest Midwest Jesuit class since 1995 reached its pinnacle moment in June with ordination at Church of the Gesu. Congratulations and God bless alumni Revs. Joe Simmons, Arts ’04, Brad Held, Arts ’06, and Stephen Wolfe, Arts ’03, Grad ’08.

Law

$5.5 million gift

Sheldon and Marianne Lubar and Marquette Law School established the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. The Lubars’ latest gift of $5.5 million, which expands upon an existing fund of $1.5 million created with a gift received from the Lubars in 2010, will support public events, funding for faculty and staff involved in the center, and research and reporting projects.

Arts & Sciences

Cyber safe

The Klingler College of Arts and Sciences unveiled the Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense. The center is the first of its kind in the region, with education and research opportunities in cyber security technology and preparedness, and a professional master of science degree with a specialization for cyber security professionals. Contact Kelli Rael, development director in the college, for information at (414) 288-6586.

Engineering

House expert

Opus College of Engineering’s first entrepreneur-in-residence, Adonica Randall, Grad ’79, is spending the academic year with the college. Randall brings expertise and entre-preneurial insights to students and academia gained through experiences working at General Electric, IBM, General Motors and A.O. Smith. She has owned and operated a consulting business in the Milwaukee area for the past 15 years.

Innovations

Strategic grants given

The Office of Research and Innovation announced the 2017 Strategic Innovation Fund grants will go to eight projects working in the areas of water/environmental, community impact and interdisciplinary research infrastructure.

Nursing

Anesthetists

A doctor of nursing practice nurse anesthesia program connects education and research expertise at the College of Nursing with clinical and educational thought leadership at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Lisa Thiemann leads the program that is designed to respond to a growing demand for nurse anesthetists.

Innovations

Funding clinical trials

Promentis Pharmaceutical Inc., which was co-founded by Drs. David Baker and John Mantsch in the College of Health Sciences, raised $26 million, including $17.2 million in its third round of funding. The investment will finance key clinical trials of its most promising compound targeting neuropsychiatric disorders. “This unique compound is one of the first attempts to treat central nervous system disorders by targeting glutamate release by astrocytes,” Baker says. “This is groundbreaking because glutamate is one of the most powerful regulators of brain function, and astrocytes are the most abundant cell in the brain.” Mantsch adds, “We believe this approach — targeting glutamate release — may be effective against a wide range of CNS disorders.”

Arts & Sciences

Option for higher math minds

A new master of science in applied statistics program is particularly well-suited to students from undergraduate programs in mathematics, statistics, engineering, economics and finance who would like to pursue careers in data science or predictive modeling. The main criterion for admission is the ability to grasp complex mathematical ideas.

Cross-discipline

Stronger in STEM

College of Education and Opus College of Engineering faculty received a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a 14-month master’s program for new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers. Applicants may apply to the program that will begin the summer of 2018.

Bus Ad

Challenge beat

The $3 million giving challenge set by Marcus Lemonis, Arts ’95, star of CNBC’s The Profit, was topped. Lemonis offered $1.5 million if the university community matched his gift. In almost no time 2,769 donors responded, giving $1,792,748. The grand total of $3,292,748 will fund a student-run business program, the Marcus Lemonis Pay the Profit Forward Program, and provide initial funds for students to pursue business ideas.

Health Sciences

Gift for PT

The College of Health Sciences received a $1.5 million gift from the estate of Capt. John A. Orlandini, Bus Ad ’60. Orlandini suffered a life-changing injury during his time in the U.S. Navy. He pledged an estate gift to the physical therapy program to help students who will provide hands-on care to patients in need, especially those with spinal cord injuries.